SOMALIA: November food security

NAIROBI, 13 December - In their monthly report, the Food Security Assessment Unit and the Famine Early Warning System (FSAU/FEWS) say floods in the Lower Juba area of southern Somalia have severely damaged standing crops. The report says there will be "food security and nutritional problems in the riverine areas". The floods have submerged at least one village (Arare) and damaged many others, according to the report. The most affected areas are on the west bank of the Juba river, near the towns of Jilib and Jamaame, the report stated.

The report also notes that the Somali shilling depreciated against all major currencies in October. The Somali shilling lost 14 percent of its value against the US dollar from its value in September - from shs 9,900 to shs 11,300. The shilling lost another 10 percent of its value in October and depreciated even further in November. The report attributed the currency's decline to the injection of huge amounts of newly printed bank notes into the markets, especially in Mogadishu.

The FSAU/FEWS report indicates that, with the exception of a few areas, prices of locally grown crops are low, while prices of imports are high. This is in part due the effects of the livestock ban. According to the report, however, livestock prices are falling only gradually, and in the southern regions (Gedo, Lower Juba, Middle Juba, and to a lesser extent Bay and Bakool) livestock prices are actually rising. The report attributes this to the high demand for meat during the holiday season.

In Somaliland, the total area harvested this year was 23,700 ha, which yielded 14,000 mt of cereals, 83 percent of which was sorghum and 17 percent maize. According to the report, this year's harvest was about nine percent higher than in 1998 (12,800 mt), but 36 percent lower than in 1999 (21,820 mt) according to the report. The report attributes the decline in this year's harvest as compared to 1999 to poor rainfall and the high cost of hiring tractors at this crucial period.